Taken
by lurkingwhump
Summary: An old Sandstorm connection comes back to haunt Jane as she tries to survive her worst nightmare
1. Chapter 1

A/N:This is an angsty AU fic starting from the end of s3. All of the other events of s3 apply, except Jane wakes up as herself, not as Remi.

This will be angsty as hell, but I promise there will be a hopeful ending. So, please don't put a bounty on my head.

Before I get on with the story, a special thanks to take2intotheshower and indelibleevidence for betaing and acting as my sounding board as I rambled endlessly about the events and sequence of this fic.

* * *

Jane was sitting by Kurt's bedside again, in the same chair she had spent the last day in. She held his larger hand in hers, gently stroking the back of it with her thumb. Lying there, still sedated and between surgeries, he looked so vulnerable.

Since she had woken up and wandered to his room where the team was with Kurt, he had undergone another surgery and the doctors said a third was still necessary to repair the damage and try to prevent infection from setting in. They were keeping him sedated and on a ventilator, so as not to strain his body before what they hoped was the last operation. They would be coming shortly to take him to surgery.

Jane herself had been discharged from the hospital soon after waking up, since medically there wasn't much they could do. But what she had learned after it was something that felt like the cruelest joke that fate could throw at her. She wasn't pregnant, she was _dying_. The happiness she had felt at the prospect of starting a family, the absolute joy on Kurt's face when she had told him she thought she might be pregnant; it had all been a cruel twist of fate. The ZIP was slowly poisoning her. Patterson and Rich had sworn to do everything they possibly could to find the cure, already having started analysis of the information Roman had left behind. And Jane knew they would.

She trusted the team and cared for them like family, but the person she needed the most right now was lying in the hospital bed in front of her. She could not turn to Avery; having lost her adoptive parents had been hard enough for her and it wouldn't be fair to have her shoulder Jane's worries too. And she had lost Roman. Had the situation been different, they might have been fighting this together. But it was not to be, her brother was gone. And now she faced the possibility of losing her husband as well.

She leaned in and tenderly caressed Kurt's forehead before running her fingers through his hair. "Kurt, please hang on," she whispered pleadingly to his still form.

Maybe it was selfish of her to hope he would fight through this to support her. But Kurt was all she had left. As much as she loved the team and Avery, the only person she felt she could truly lean on, to let herself be vulnerable with, was Kurt. She couldn't weather this storm alone. She needed his silent strength, his support and his love.

* * *

Kurt had been in surgery for nearly two hours. Jane had spent almost the entire time pacing the short hallway of the surgical wing waiting area. It took her sixty-seven steps to get from one end to the other and there were 48 horizontal lines in the floor between the tiles.

There was no one else in the waiting area; Jane didn't know if she should feel worried or relieved. " _People would probably think I'm crazy if they saw me pacing back and forth."_ She counted her steps, the lines and the number of tiles over and over again because she needed something to focus on. If she let her focus slip, her mind would wander and she'd start thinking about Kurt's injuries, the potential complications the doctors had mentioned, the lethal amount of ZIP coursing in her veins and how much time she had left. How long did they have to find Roman's drives before the ZIP would rob her of her energy, before punishing headaches would bring her to her knees like they had with Roman? Before the ZIP would kill her? She needed Kurt now more than ever. The past couple of weeks had thrown Jane's world into a tailspin and she needed him to get better so that they could face this together.

Looking at the floor as she walked, Jane didn't notice the doctor who came out of the double doors leading into the operating rooms.

The doctor cleared his throat and Jane turned to look at him. He was a tall, thin man, maybe a little over fifty years old. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and his thin hair was already quite gray. He radiated a calmness that almost made Jane feel uncomfortable.

"My name is Doctor Saunders. Are you Kurt Weller's family?"

Jane gave a short nod "Yes, I'm his wife. How is he?"

The doctor spoke in a quiet tone. "I am sorry, but I have bad news."

Jane's breath stopped short and she simply stared at him. She took a couple of steps to the side, putting her hand against the wall for support.

"I'm sorry but your husband died in surgery."

Jane gasped and blinked a few times, processing the news. "What? No! Kurt..he can't be dead."

Saunders carefully guided Jane to a chair and continued gently once she was seated. "There was a massive bleeding in his abdomen that we were unable to control and he went into hypovolemic shock. We did everything we could. I'm sorry."

Jane leaned into her hands in shock, feeling like she was unable to process the doctor's words. She felt like her world had stopped spinning. _"Kurt's dead. He's dead."_ She had thought she would cry and scream, but she couldn't. There were no tears: she simply felt numb. She couldn't fathom it.

Jane looked at Saunders, feeling like she wanted to plead with him to tell her that there had been a mistake and Kurt was alive, but instead she heard her own voice tiredly asking "Can I see him, please?"

"I'm afraid it won't be possible until the morning. The technicians have to remove the medical equipment and there is no one at the morgue at this hour to facilitate the viewing by family members. I also have to ask you to fill out some paperwork, so that we have all of your husband's information."

Jane nodded. "Yes. Whatever you need."

* * *

Jane closed the apartment door behind her and threw her keys on the kitchen table. For a moment she just stood by the counter, looking around the apartment. _"He's gone."_ The apartment looked the same as it always paper was on the table, a couple of bills on the counter along with an assortment of junk mail. But the more she looked, the more Jane saw things that were decidedly Kurt. The Scotch decanter by the side table in the living room, his shirt thrown over the back of a chair, the CD- player's remote. She walked over to the chair, running her fingers over the fabric, before picking up the shirt. She held it in her hand, almost hesitantly, before bringing it to her cheek and nuzzling her face into the cloth. Jane could smell Kurt's scent in it. She still couldn't comprehend the doctor's words: " _complications…tried to revive him…dead."_

Jane slowly made her way to the couch and sat down. She sat there for a moment, not really feeling anything. Numb. She felt like she had a million thoughts running through her head, but at the same time, none at all. She'd never again hear his voice answering her call with the soft greeting only reserved for her. See how his eyes lit up when talking about something that made him happy. Hear him growl her name in a way that made her weak at the knees.

Jane didn't know how long she'd sat on the couch, the last vestiges of light had faded and the apartment was shrouded in darkness. She turned on the light beside her and got up, feeling like she needed a drink, a strong one. She walked to the side table, staring at the Scotch decanter and the glasses surrounding it. Jane had given the decanter to Kurt as a birthday present last year, knowing his affinity for a good Scotch. With a shaking hand, she uncapped the decanter and poured its contents into a glass. Taking the glass, she downed the drink in a single swig, feeling the Scotch burn its way down into her stomach. She refilled the glass before putting the decanter back in its spot and replacing the cap.

" _I have to notify the team."_ She made her way back to the couch and sat down. " _Patterson. I should call Patterson."_ Digging out her phone from her pocket, she opened the call list and froze. Drawing a shuddering breath, she looked at Kurt's name staring back at her from the screen. " _He's the last person you called."_

Jane put the phone down and took a sip of the Scotch. She picked up the phone again and forced herself to find Patterson's number. It rang a couple of times before her friend answered. Patterson had barely voiced a greeting when Jane spoke.

"He's gone."

"Wait. Jane, what?" Patterson's voice sounded disbelieving.

Jane's voice was monotone, distant even to her own ears. "There were some complications…they did all they could, but…he's _dead."_

"No! No, no. It can't be. Weller can't be dead."

Jane could hear the distress in Patterson's voice and Rich's incredulous tone in the background as he apparently moved closer to Patterson.

Patterson spoke again and now Jane heard the tears in her voice. "Oh no. No. Jane, I don't even know what to say."

Jane's gave a mirthless laugh "Yeah, neither do I." Releasing a shuddering breath she stated, almost matter-of-factly "He's gone."

"Where are you? Are you at the hospital?"

"No, no. I'm at home."

"Do you want some company? I could come there with you. You shouldn't be alone right now." Patterson spoke rapidly, but her tone was soft and compassionate.

Jane leaned her forehead against her other hand and closed her eyes. "No, thank you. I….I need some time alone right now, Patterson."

"Okay. But please call me if you need anything. _"_

"I will, thanks. Look, I'm gonna go now. Bye."

"Bye Jane, take care of yourself."

After the call, Jane dropped the phone to the couch and leaned on her hands. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself she finished the glass of Scotch and got up. She took the glass and placed it on the kitchen counter before heading to the bedroom.

Jane entered the room and noticed his closet was open. She walked over to it and ran her hand across his shirts on the hangers. She opened one of his drawers and just stared at the contents, not quite sure what she was doing. Closing it, she sat on the bed and stared at the collection of photographs on the dresser next to the bed. Her eyes stopped on one of the pictures and she picked it up.

It was a snapshot that Allie had taken of her and Kurt as they were painting their house in Colorado. Kurt was wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt and she had jeans and a tank top on. He had her pulled against his side with one arm and was kissing her temple as she laughed in his embrace. They had been so happy then, making plans. Before the bounty, before everything that followed.

Jane held the picture, tracing her finger over it. Soon the cold, cruel truth, hit her in the face and her first tears fell on the photo frame: _He was gone...They would never have a child. They would never have the family they had talked about._

She couldn't stop the tears. "Kurt!" his name escaped her lips in almost a wail. "Kurt. Why? God, why?" Her breath hitched as the shuddering sobs tore through her body. "Why him and not me?" Jane spoke aloud to no one in particular. "You already took my brother. And now Kurt is gone. I have no one left." She desperately clutched the photo to her chest as she lay down on the bed and wept deep, painful tears. "Kurt…no. Please, no."


	2. Chapter 2

Still just a fan, not making any money. All rights belong to Martin Gero & Co, and the wonderful actors who portray these characters.

Without further ado, here's chapter 2 of Taken.

* * *

Jane stared at the face in front of her for a moment, unable to speak or react. It was as if her muscles refused to listen to her brain. After a while, she found her voice again.

"That's….that's not Kurt," she said, looking at the pathologist's assistant.

The assistant looked stunned "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"That is not my husband," Jane said again, her voice slightly stronger this time.

The assistant looked at the documents and addressed Jane apologetically. "Kurt Weller, correct? These are his papers, ma'am."

Jane felt frozen. It wasn't Kurt lying on that slab. But how could they misplace his body? Jane felt a headache coming on, her world was coming apart at the seams.

"I can't… I can't do this right now. I need some air," she said, rubbing her forehead. "And I want to see my husband. _How_ can you misplace someone's body?!"

Flustered, the assistant nodded at Jane. "Of course ma'am. I'll start looking into this right now."

Jane stepped outside the morgue doors, and noticed her hands were trembling. _"Oh God, how can something like this happen? Why me, why now?"_ She felt the tears forming in her eyes and tried to control her emotions but couldn't hold back the small whimper. She leaned against the wall and wept quietly, her tears falling on the floor drop by drop.

After a moment, she wiped her tears and tried to prepare herself to go back in and talk to the morgue personnel again. She needed to see Kurt's body. Roman had died in her arms, but Kurt, he'd been alone, without her in that operating room. The last time she saw him was when they took him to surgery. She desperately needed to say goodbye to him.

As Jane was heading to the door, she could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket. Digging it out, she looked at the screen.

 _Unknown number_

Reading the text sent chills running down her spine. It reminded her of Roman. But Roman was gone. She drew a deep breath to steady herself and pressed the green symbol on the screen.

"He…hello?"

"Jane Doe...or should I say Remi Briggs?" A disguised voice greeted her.

Remi's name made Jane stop in her tracks. "Who are you?"

"Who I am is irrelevant."

Jane felt the irritation rising. "What do you want? I have no…"

"Temper, Miss Doe. Or would that be _Mrs. Weller_ , after all?" The voice taunted her.

" _Kurt."_ Jane suddenly felt a flash of fear at the sound of his last name. Something was wrong.

"It would serve you well to listen to me very carefully."

Jane tried to sound composed but was unable to hide the tremor in her voice. "I'm listening."

"I believe I have something you want…or _someone,_ rather."

Jane gasped, as she heard a pained moan from the background.

"Kurt!"

"Yes, it is indeed your husband."

The tears reappeared, brimming her eyelids again. " _Kurt's alive."_ The next moment, anger bubbled within her. "You hurt him and I'll -"

Before she had a change to finish the sentence, she heard Kurt cry out in pain.

"You're in no position to make threats. Your husband's treatment is completely up to you. Tell _anyone_ about our contact and he will pay for it. If you fail to do what I tell you to, the last thing you hear of him will be him spending his final moments in excruciating pain, and you will _never_ find his body." As if to drive home the point, Jane heard Kurt scream in agony for a few seconds, as they did god knows what to him.

At that moment, all of Jane's training was out the window. All that mattered to her at that moment was Kurt. She knew her voice was not calm and collected, but rather shaky and desperate. "Okay, okay. I'll do what you want. Just…just don't hurt him."

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator with Rich in tow, Patterson was surprised, and instantly worried, to see Jane sitting by a computer in the SIOC bullpen. She shared a quick look with Rich, seeing the same worry reflected in his eyes. Jane's posture was slumped and her eyes were red from crying. It was clear she hadn't slept the previous night.

Not that Patterson had gotten much sleep herself either. She couldn't believe Weller was gone. He had always looked out for her and backed her if she was trying to explain something to the brass, even if he had no idea what her technical jargon really meant. He had been more than a supervisor. He had been like a protective big brother at times, subtly supporting her through David's death and most of all, the Borden fiasco. Losing Kurt made Patterson all the more determined to find the cure for Jane's poisoning, because she knew that's what Kurt would have single-mindedly focused on. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she walked up to Jane and touched her shoulder lightly. "Jane… "

Jane jerked back, startled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"That's okay." Jane replied, trying to brush it off.

Patterson felt her heart squeeze at the pain she saw in her friend's eyes.

"You shouldn't be here. You're exhausted," she spoke sympathetically.

"I can't…I can't stay at home, Patterson. Everything there makes me think of Kurt," Jane's voice quivered and her eyes were brimming with tears. "I have to do something."

Patterson squeezed Jane's shoulder, giving her a small understanding nod. She had felt the same when David died. "Okay."

"Why are you looking at the Sandstorm files?" Patterson heard Rich ask Jane gently from behind her. "I thought they were over and done with."

Jane glanced at the screen and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Yeah…I just…I just want to go over them again. See if we can find something that might help us with finding the next drive…I'm going to get a drink of water." As she stood, she swayed dangerously, almost collapsing if it hadn't been for Rich's quick grip around her shoulder.

"Whoa there, Wonder Woman. You just sit back down. I'll get you the drink," Rich said as he gently guided Jane back into the chair. He patted her shoulder akwardly and went off to get the drink.

In the meantime, Patterson knelt next to the chair and took Jane's hand. "Are you sure about this? Maybe you should go to the break room to rest for a while?" she coaxed.

"No, no…I'm fine."

"Don't run yourself into the ground. You're sick and with…with everything else, you're under a huge strain, "Patterson went on, not able to say the words they both knew she meant. Even if it hadn't fully sunk in yet.

Jane nodded at Rich gratefully as he passed her the glass of water and took a sip.

"Would you come to the lab with Rich and me then? We could look at the data together."

"No. I'm fine here. Thanks."

"Okay," she conceded, "but if there's _anything_ you need, just ask, okay? We'll be in the lab," and she gave Jane's hand a squeeze.

"I will, thanks," Jane replied, her voice slightly hoarse.

As they reached the lab and the door closed, Rich spoke.

"Something's not right with Jane."

"Rich!" Patterson scolded him, casting him a disapproving look. "The ZIP is poisoning her and she _just lost her husband,_ " she nearly growled at him.

Rich held his hands in front of him and spoke in a serious, gentler tone. "I know. I know she's hurting and probably still in shock, with Roman and the ZIP and now Weller, but still. This is not like Jane. There's something of a…you might say…a _je ne sais quoi_ about this.

* * *

Jane exited the NYO, having told Patterson and Rich that she needed some air. Patterson her given her a compassionate, understanding look and asked her if she wanted some company. Jane had declined the offer, saying she needed a moment alone.

She did need the air, but not because losing Kurt felt like it was suffocating her. What did feel suffocating, was that she had to lie to her friends. She lied to the team and it was killing her, but Kurt's life was in the balance. He was still alive, _for now._

The disguised voice on the phone had told her to get a specific Sandstorm file from the FBI. Jane had almost got caught by Patterson and Rich when she was on the computer and the dizzy spell hit. Luckily, they had believed her explanation of trying to find information to help search for the cure.

She had managed the find the electronic copy of the file the voice had requested and printed it. She had the printout with her, tucked inside her jacket, as she headed to the Federal Building parking garage. She knew that removing the file from the FBI premises like this was most likely a crime; turning it over to God knows who certainly was. Jane knew she could potentially go to prison for it, but right now she didn't care. The only thing that mattered to her, the only mission she had right now, was getting her husband safely back to her. If she didn't deliver the file by the deadline, they said Kurt would pay the price for it.

Glancing at her phone, she saw she still had 40 minutes to make the dead drop. Factoring in the traffic, she should make it there with time to spare. Walking to the car, a painful jolt in her temple. " _No, not now. I have to fight through this, no matter how much it hurts. I have to take this file to that location."_ Jane gritted her teeth and drew in a pained breath. She unlocked the car and was just about to start it when everything went black.

* * *

Kurt opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times. His vision was blurry and it would not let up, although he kept blinking. The next thing he noticed was the dull, continuous ache in his stomach. _"The gunshot wound. Am I in the hospital?"_ He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts. His only fuzzy memory was someone moving him and it hurt. He noticed he was now lying in a bed, and felt something in his hand, probably an IV. He opened his eyes again, noticing his arms were twisted at an odd angle, above him. He tried to pull on them, only to hiss in pain as the movement tore at the staples of the wound. As Kurt struggled, he heard the clinking of metal against metal. " _They've cuffed me to the bed."_ Trying again, he was forced to give up as the pain flared. He closed his eyes, grunting quietly at the sensation.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Kurt soon sensed someone standing next to him. He opened his eyes, blinking again to rid himself of the blurry vision. Seeing slightly better, he could make out the features of the person now: he was a gangly man with a narrow face and glasses.

The man looked at him with a satisfied smile. "Ah, good. You're awake."

Kurt squinted and drew his head back as the beam of a penlight hit his eyes. In his tired mind Kurt surmised the man must be a doctor based on what he was doing and from the white lab coat he wore. "Where am I? What is this place?"

The man didn't answer his question. Turning to a table next to the bed he fiddled with something. "I believe it's time for your medication, Agent Weller."

As the doctor faced him, Kurt saw he was holding a syringe, drops of liquid appearing at the end of the needle as the air left the syringe with the press of the plunger.

Kurt tried to pull his arms and body away, but the handcuffs effectively locked him into place. He looked at the syringe in alarm. "What is that? No, don't." He tried to struggle, to get away from the needle, but the doctor grabbed his arm in a vice grip. He cringed as the needle punctured his arm and felt a strong stinging sensation as the drug entered his body. "What did you inject me with?"

The doctor gave him almost a wolfish look and smiled. "You'll find out momentarily."

First, a burning sensation spread through Kurt's body, his wound feeling like someone was stabbing him with hot pokers. He groaned, his breath coming out in short breaths as he fought the pain. But soon, it became white and blinding, like all of the nerve endings in his body were on fire. He felt like he wanted to turn onto his side and curl up, to try and ease the pain, but the handcuffs prevented him. All he could do was moan as the pain consumed his entire body.

"You can make the call now," he heard the doctor saying to someone.


	3. Chapter 3

Jane jolted back to consciousness. It took her a moment to realize where she was and why. " _Kurt! What time is it?"_ Panicked, she groped around the passenger seat for her phone, checking the clock on the screen. She'd been out cold for 20 minutes. " _I have to go, now! I might still just make it to the drop off."_

She started the car and drove out, navigating the streets. She felt her heart pounding in her chest every time she had to stop for a light. She wasn't in an FBI vehicle, had no emergency lights, so she had to abide by the traffic laws or risk attracting unwanted attention to herself.

When the deadline hit, Jane was still about five minutes out from the drop. Her heart felt like it was about to burst. She felt the cold sweat on her forehead and tears in her eyes, as her mind ran through all the things they might do to Kurt. She finally got to the old abandoned building they had named and took the stairs two at a time as she ran to the rooftop where they had told her to leave the file.

She dropped the file on an old camping table by the door, and paced around the roof nervously, looking around at the adjacent buildings to see if there was someone watching her. She didn't see anyone. After a moment she nearly jumped out of her skin as her phone rang. " _Unknown number."_

"I have the file you asked," Jane blurted out before the person on the other end spoke.

"You missed the deadline," was the chillingly calm and calculated reply. "I'm disappointed in you, " the voice berated her. "The Remi I knew, with her military training, always made sure that timings were followed to the second. There was a reason for that deadline."

"I passed out, I couldn't –"

"I'm not interested in your excuses!" He cut Jane off. "You failed to deliver what I asked and now your husband is paying the price for your failure."

What Jane heard next was a sound that would haunt her. She heard Kurt's weak, pleading voice saying "No" to someone before she heard her husband howling in pain.

"What are you doing to him? Stop! Don't hurt him! Please, stop hurting him!" Jane desperately pleaded as she heard Kurt continue screaming in agony. "I'll do what you ask, just don't hurt him anymore. Please!"

"It's unfortunate it had to come to this. I would much have preferred to keep this civilized. Which is why I'm willing to give you another chance. Which is more than the person _I_ cared for ever got."

After a moment, the screams in the background suddenly stopped. "Seems like Kurt reached the limit of his pain tolerance," the voice on the other end nearly gloated. " But don't worry, we'll take very good care of him. Lucky for you, this file was just a test. The file you need to obtain is XPY46735B. You have three hours."

Jane drew in a breath, afraid to challenge the time given, but she knew she needed to. "Wait! I need more time. That file has a top-secret prefix, I don't have access to that information. I need to find a user ID to the system before I can access it. Please!"

There was a moment of silence on the other end as he considered her request. "Okay, I am not a complete monster. I will give you six hours. In that time you must get the file and deliver it to this same location. Fail to do so and we will harvest your husband's organs, starting while he's still very much alive and conscious," he finished ominously.

"I'll…I'll get you that file, I swear. Just don't hurt him, please."

* * *

It was around seven in the evening and most people had left, but Patterson and Rich were still working in the lab, running analysis on the information on the drive Roman had left them.

Patterson was studying something on her tablet, when she heard Rich speak.

"What's Jane doing here at this hour?"

Seeing that Rich was looking at the security feeds of the building and was tracking Jane with the cameras, she sighed. "Give it a rest, Rich. She's probably come to collect some of Weller's things." Patterson swallowed painfully at the thought. She still couldn't believe he was gone, and could only imagine the agony Jane was feeling.

"The locker room's the other way. She's heading towards the utility hallway."

"Rich…" Patterson growled at him warningly but, her interest piqued, she moved over to the screens to take a look at the security feed."

"Uhm…does Jane have access to that room?" Rich asked innocently, seeing her access the computer records room.

" No, only the archivist and the leadership of the NYO have access there." Patterson replied, worried.

She tapped at the keyboard for a moment, pulling up the room access logs from the security database.

"Jane's using Reade's access and PIN code," she said to Rich, getting more concerned by the second.

"I told you something wasn't right," Rich replied, his voice serious, devoid of any gloating or humor.

The blonde tech wizard was already on her way out the door, calling back to Rich over her shoulder. "Call Reade, tell him to come back here. I'll go talk to Jane, find out what's going on."

Patterson walked down to the records room and, not having access to the room herself, she decided to wait outside until Jane emerged.

* * *

"What were you thinking, Jane?" Patterson asked, her tone incredulous, as all four of them were back in her lab.

Jane didn't answer her, keeping her eyes cast down.

"You broke into my office and stole my access card and password," Reade said, getting angrier.

"Look who's talking, Mr. I-keep-my-password-in plain-sight-in-a model-airplane-stand," Rich piped in, looking at Reade disapprovingly.

Reade glowered at the hacker and turned to Jane. "I should have you arrested, Jane!"

"Reade, no!" Patterson protested.

"Yes! She broke the law and she betrayed our trust. I'm taking her to holding, we'll figure out how to proceed in the morning."

Hearing Reade's words, Jane knew she had to tell them. Telling them would put Kurt in danger, but if she was locked up until the morning, Kurt would surely be dead. As Reade grabbed her arm, she pleaded with her friend. "Reade, wait. Please! Don't do this! They'll kill Kurt." She whispered the last words.

Jane heard Patterson and Rich gasp almost in unison and Reade, just as stunned at her words, let go.

Reade looked at her warily. "What? You told us he was dead."

Jane collapsed into one of the chairs in the lab and shook her head. All she heard in her ears right now were her husband's agonized screams. She buried her head in her hands and spoke in a quiet, quivering voice.

"No, he's alive. Someone called me when I was at the morgue. They told me they would kill him unless I did what they said."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Patterson asked her gently, a wounded note in her voice. "We would have helped, you know that."

"They warned me that if I told anyone, Kurt would pay the price for it." The first tears slipped down Jane's cheeks, but she continued, letting her gaze travel from Reade to Rich and Patterson before she stared at the floor again. "I was supposed to take a Sandstorm file to them at this location, by a certain time, but I…I failed. I passed out."

"Oh no. Are you okay?" Patterson approached her, touching her shoulder briefly.

"I am, physically anyway. When I got to the drop-off point, they called me," Jane continued. "They said it was only a test and that this file's the one they really want. But to make sure I delivered it this time, they made Kurt pay for my failure." She looked up at Reade, tears now freely running down her cheeks. "All I could hear was him screaming in pain. God knows what they were doing to him. All I can hear now are his screams." Jane buried her head back in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

Suddenly she felt a hesitant, comforting pat on her shoulder. Lifting her head, she saw Rich standing next to her chair, looking at her compassionately.

"Please don't take me to holding," she pleaded with Reade and shifted her gaze from him to Patterson. "I'm sorry about lying to you. I just, I just need to get Kurt back. He's been taken from me, and without him I have nothing to live for. I don't know what to do."

"We'll get him back to you," Rich spoke softly, but his tone was determined. "Won't we?" He looked at Patterson and Reade, who both nodded.

Reade looked at Jane "Okay, tell us what you know."

"Not much. I got the first call at the morgue, telling me to obtain a file for them."

Ever the federal agent, Reade nodded and thought for a while. "Did they tell you a name, anything?"

"No, nothing. The voice was disguised. I have no idea who they are!" Jane nearly shouted in frustration. "All I know is that they want that file, and they won't shy away from torturing Kurt to get it."

"Alright, we'll look at the information in the file, see if we can connect it to something."

"You said a doctor notified you of Kurt's death in surgery." Patterson interjected, giving Jane a pained look.

"Yeah, per hospital policy, I imagine. He said he was one of the doctors treating Kurt."

"If he's alive, the doctor might have a link to whoever took him. What's his name?"

Jane thought for a while, kicking herself for not making the connection sooner. "Saunders, his name is Saunders."

Rich smiled at Jane as he started to tap away at a keyboard excitedly. "Alright, now we have something to go on."

After a few tense minutes, Rich spoke, his voice almost triumphant. "Children, I believe I've found your mysterious doctor."

"One Douglas Saunders, white male, late 50s, anesthesiologist at St. Jude's." Rich put the man's photo up on screen. "Voilà!"

Jane stared at the photo, shocked. "That's him! He's the one who told me Kurt was dead."

"Okay, Rich, what does the information say about him?" Reade asked.

"Usual stuff about medical school, voluntary work in Africa etc. etc. Oh, now this is where it gets interesting..."

Reade rolled his eyes "Just get on with it, Rich. We don't have time for guessing games."

"He's suspended."

Jane felt the sinking feeling in her stomach get worse. "Suspended for what?"

"Looks like for suspected malpractice." Rich replied. "Some of the patients he was treating mysteriously died during surgery and it wasn't due to a surgeon's error but dosages. One 48-year old woman during a colonoscopy, one man in his thirties during shoulder surgery, and an 8-year old boy, who'd been in a car accident."

"I know surgeries are always risky, but a colonoscopy and a shoulder surgery?" Reade wondered.

"Exactly, my friend. Let me see what else I can find on our dear doctor…"

Jane's world was caving in on her. She couldn't take Rich and Reade speculating right now; not when Kurt's screams echoed in her ears.

She went to the farthest corner of the lab and sat down, not even trying to contain the tears as she leaned into her hands. " _Kurt's injured and in agony. Who has him? This doctor, he's somehow involved. The voice knew Remi. This is my fault. Me and my family, again."_ Jane's thoughts were going a million miles a minute, the desperation she felt squeezing her heart like a slowly tightening vice grip.

Suddenly she felt a gentle hand touch her shoulder and looked up. Patterson was looking at her with pain and concern in her eyes.

"How are you doing?" she asked softly, worried. _"_ Like the walls are falling in on me." she replied mirthlessly. Her voice broke at the strength of the emotion. "I just want Kurt back."

"I know. And we'll find him. I promise." Patterson gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and went back to the computers, leaving Jane alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Kurt moaned quietly, as the pain spiked again. He didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like days, when his existence had been nothing but agony. Whatever they had injected him with made it feel like acid slowly eating away at his insides. He wanted to wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead, but even the smallest movement made him see red flashes of pain behind his eyelids. They had removed the handcuffs some time ago so he could move his arms again, but it felt like too much of an effort.

He turned his head to the side tiredly, looking at the sharp-dressed man standing to the side of room. Kurt had gathered this man must be the leader, as he had been on the phone to someone and given orders to the others who came and went. "Why are you doing this? Why are you keeping me here?" he asked quietly.

The man turned to look at him and walked over. He didn't seem threatening or angry, but rather melancholy.

"I'm sorry you had to be drawn into this. But it is necessary to help me clear my wife's name. She was passionate about her beliefs but she didn't deserve to be labeled a terrorist."

"Why me?"

"You and your friends at the FBI were the ones that shut down their operation. And the FBI has what I need, so you are my leverage," he explained patiently. Glancing at his watch, he continued "But it looks like they have failed again. Another deadline not met. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make another call." With that he turned and left the room, nodding at someone at the doorway. "Saunders".

Kurt sat up, feeling his vision narrow and his heart beat faster as he saw the white-coated man enter again. Kurt saw him fiddle with something in the corner of the room for a while, before heading towards the bed. He had another syringe in his hand.

"It's time for another dose," Saunders said almost clinically. "Your body is amazingly resilient, so I've increased the dosage."

Kurt tried to resist, he brought up his arms, trying to push the doctor and the syringe away. "No. No!" He grabbed the man's wrist, attempting to wrench the syringe out of his hands, but his grip wasn't strong enough and the needle plunged into his arm anyway. He gasped as the drug entered his body. Still, he resisted when the doctor tried to lean in with a stethoscope.

The resistance was short-lived and he screamed in excruciating pain as Saunders pressed his hand forcefully down on his wound and kept pressing, for what seemed like minutes to Kurt.

"Stop resisting!" the doctor hissed angrily.

Just when Kurt thought he would pass out, the doctor took his hand away. Kurt could only cry out in pain, feeling like he was being eviscerated.

"Try that again and I promise you will live in perpetual agony for days. You'll hope you will die, but I won't let you," Saunders whispered to him menacingly before leaving.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Here's chapter 4. Time to get Kurt back into the safety of Jane's arms. Still an epilogue left after this one.

I'm still just a fan, don't own anything.

* * *

Jane walked down the side of the abandoned street behind Reade with her weapon at the ready, with an FBI assault team trailing behind her. They were about a block away from the disused dental practice that Kurt had been taken to. Using hospital CCTV and traffic cams Patterson had been able to find that Saunders and his assistants had transported Kurt out of the hospital using a hearse and tracked it to the location they were nearing.

Jane shuddered at the thought of the hearse and Kurt in it, even though he was alive. She only hoped Kurt was still here; the set deadline was just upon them and if they did not move fast, the consequences would be devastating.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Rich's voice in her ear. "The building is leased to Brookland Pharmaceuticals. The company is owned by a Jason Brookland and it is heavily involved in the Asian markets, has a plant in Thailand, with an R&D division and headquarters here in the US. Blah, blah, blah…Specializes in antibiotics treating MRSA. Blah, blah…" Rich was silent for a moment, apparently reading the company's website. "Oh! _And_ it lists one Dr. Douglas Saunders as one of their head research scientists," he ended, sounding almost triumphant.

Jane digested the information for a moment, "Alright, that's a connection to Saunders. But what about Sandstorm?"

Now, Patterson piped in. "We looked at the file the voice was asking you to get, and it's about the events in Thailand. The Thai police information lists one of the deceased women as having been married to an American. We also pulled the financial records of Brookland Pharma, and it looks like he was using shell companies to fund Sandstorm's operations."

Now, it made sense to Jane. "She was Brookland's wife! I…I remember seeing some Sandstorm members of Asian descent when Roman took me to their compound. She must have been involved with the operation." Jane thought of Brookland's words to her. "He said giving me another chance to do what he said is more than the person he cared about got. He's doing this for her."

They had just reached the corner of the target building, when a sound froze Jane's blood in her veins and she nearly lost her composure. She recognized Kurt's voice; he was screaming in pain. The deadline had passed.

" _What are they doing to him? Are they doing what Brookland threatened? Is he screaming because there's a scalpel cutting him? Is he…"_ Jane forced herself to stop running the worst-case scenario in her head. " _Focus. Kurt's life is in your hands."_ She drew in a deep breath and spoke into her comms. " We have to go in, now."

Reade nodded and moved, kicking down the door and identifying them as FBI. One of Brookland's bodyguards opened fire on them, but he was quickly neutralized. The other one in the waiting area read the signs and dropped his weapon. Advancing down the hall and clearing the treatment rooms, Jane found Saunders cowering in the corner of one of them with his hands up.

"Don't shoot me," he pleaded, holding his shaking hands in front of him as a gesture of surrender.

Anger flared inside Jane and she dragged him up by the neck of his lab coat. "You son of a bitch! Get up! You're under arrest." She cuffed him, and led him to the hallway.

Jane saw Reade emerge from one of the treatment rooms, escorting a cuffed Jason Brookland. She pushed Saunders to face the wall and growled at him to stay.

Reade and Brookland barely had time to register Jane's presence, when she landed a hard punch on Brookland's face, hearing a satisfying crack as his nose broke and blood spurted out as he groaned.

"You bastard!" she yelled at him, and was about to land another punch when she felt Reade tear her away and put himself between her and Brookland.

"Jane! That's enough!"

She glowered at Reade, knowing she could take him down to get to Brookland again.

"He isn't worth it," Reade said in a calm tone, his look telling Jane he shared her opinion of the man.

She turned and stepped back a few steps, regaining her composure. She put her arm against the wall and leaned her head against it wearily. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Reade said nothing, Jane could see the concern in his eyes.

"Can you...can you handle this?" Jane asked with a note of desperation in her voice, gesturing vaguely towards the men they had in custody. "I...I need to see Kurt. Please?"

Reade's look was warm and understanding as he briefly nodded to a team member to take Brookland, and then addressed her. "Yeah, we've got this, and the processing of the scene." He squeezed Jane's arm reassuringly and nodded toward the room where Kurt was. "Go to him."

* * *

With the perpetrators now escorted out, Jane's priorities shifted from the tactical considerations to the one thing that overrode all else: Kurt and his wellbeing. Signaling for the just arrived medics to wait, Jane entered the larger room where Kurt was and stopped to look at him. He was lying on the bed; his breathing was erratic and his face and chest were covered in sweat. He was semiconscious, his left hand squeezing the blanket in a death grip. His eyes were shut tightly and a weak moan escaped his lips. She saw the handcuffs attached to the head of the bed, and saw the welts on his wrists where the cuffs had dug into his skin.

Seeing him like this brought tears to Jane's eyes. " _Oh God, what have they done to you?"_ She was by his side in a couple of strides. She spoke his name in a shuddering breath and touched his shoulder lightly.

Kurt flinched at her touch, weakly trying to put what distance he could between them. His reaction shattered her heart.

Jane swallowed hard, barely containing the sob that threatened to rise. "Kurt, it's me. I'm not going to hurt you." She spoke softly, her voice nearly breaking. "It's me."

Still tense and guarded, Kurt looked at her warily, blinking a few times, clearly not believing what he'd heard. His face was pale, his voice a mere whisper. "Jane?"

The fear she saw reflected in his eyes made her feel like someone had shot her. She gazed into them, and spoke in a loving tone, one only meant for him. "Hey…"

"Jane," he choked out her name, his voice faltering with the emotion.

Jane understood, struggling to keep her own emotions in check. The last time they had seen each other alive and well was over a week ago, before she had passed out. She leaned in close and tenderly ran her hand through his sweaty hair. "I'm here, Kurt. It's okay… It's okay."

As Jane kept whispering to him, he calmed slightly, but soon his body tensed again and he cried out in pain.

"Shh… Lie still."

Kurt's only reply was another moan as he squeezed his eyes shut, his body trembling and his hand grasping for purchase on the bed.

Jane took his hand, intertwining their fingers and caressed the back of his hand with her thumb. "The medics are here. We need to get you back to the hospital and they'll give you something for the pain."

At mention of the medics, Kurt recoiled from her touch, looking at her with fear in his eyes again. Seeing the medics approach, he tried to sit up and move away, but only sank back down with a scream as the sudden movement aggravated his injury. Instinctively protecting the wound with his arm, he still withdrew and gave her a look of absolute terror, pleading, "No! Jane, please! No doctors!"

Jane motioned for the medics to back away for now as she chanced another touch at Kurt. She lay a gentle hand on his arm while speaking soothingly to him, although inside she was on the verge of collapse, seeing his distress.

"Okay...okay. No doctors…just us."

She cautiously pulled him closer, placing a kiss in his hair as he leaned his head against her, another harsh cry escaping his lips. "God, it hurts!"

Jane felt a crushing weight in her chest at her helplessness to ease Kurt's agony. "I know, my love… Don't try to talk. I've got you." She whispered reassurances to him, caressing his bearded cheek tenderly. She continued her ministrations, holding him close, when the force of the events hit her. "I can't believe I almost lost you…" she murmured huskily into his hair.

That day when she had thought he was dead had her looking deep into the abyss. But thankfully, someone had looked out for her. She still had Kurt, cradled protectively against her now. Injured as he was, he was _alive_. Letting her eyes travel over him, checking him for injuries, she noticed the fresh needle marks in his arms and connected the dots. _That bastard wasn't here to keep Kurt alive. He was here to torture him._ She instinctively pulled Kurt closer, into the shelter of her arms. She felt his rapid, shallow breaths as he struggled against the pain.

Jane toggled her comms and spoke evenly into them, her tone clipped as she could feel her anger surfacing. "Reade, ask Saunders what he injected Kurt with. The hospital needs that information."

Waiting for Reade's answer, she turned her attention back to Kurt. Gently easing him back down, she knelt by the bed, so that she was on the same level with him and lightly ran her fingers over his forehead. Looking into his eyes, she spoke to him lovingly. "Kurt. We need to get you to the hospital. The doctors need to check your injuries."

His desperate reply came through gritted teeth as he battled another wave of agony and shook his head. "No. I can't… I can't take it again. Don't let them, please…"

Jane stamped down on the ache in her heart, trying to get through to him. She had never seen him in such pain or such desperation in his eyes. She took his face in her hands tenderly, her thumb wiping away the errant tear that stole away and ran down his cheek. "Shh. Listen to me… You're safe." She gazed deep into his eyes, hoping he could see the love she felt for him. For a moment, she let her touch do the communicating, not trusting her voice. She kept brushing her thumb up and down his cheek, letting her fingers trace the skin on his neck. After a while, she continued, "I won't let anybody hurt you, I promise. But we _need_ to get you back to the hospital."

Still, he gave her a pleading look, his gaze reflecting his distress.

Jane leaned her forehead against his. "Kurt, please. For me. I'm worried about you. I'll stay right here, with you," she whispered.

After a while, groaning quietly, he gave a short nod and reached for her hand.

"Thank you," She placed a kiss on his forehead before standing up and nodding at the medics to approach.

As careful as they tried to be, moving Kurt to the gurney only caused him more pain. He let out a scream as one of the medics touched the incision site while checking for other injuries.

Jane held his hand, running her thumb over his knuckles, hoping her touch would reassure him.

After a minute, she heard Reade's voice in her ear. "Jane, he says it's something called hyoscine-pentothal."

"Patterson, what can you find on it?" Jane asked, growing even more worried as Kurt seemed to be in more pain.

Soon, she heard her friend's voice in her ear. "Oh, no...you're not going to like this."

"Just tell me."

"According to the information, it's a neural inflammatory, meaning that it heightens the subject's sensation of pain. It's been tested and used by the CIA, among others, in quote "time sensitive interrogations". Apparently, Saunders was on the research team that developed the drug. It was an accidental discovery, but one they decided to offer to the CIA."

Jane felt her anger at Saunders grow. _"That bastard used Kurt as his guinea pig."_

"Is there an antidote?" she asked Patterson.

Patterson sighed. "No. And Jane, it says here that interacting with analgesia, the drug may cause adverse effects such as severe seizures, heart attacks or organ damage -"

"Which means they can't give him anything to relieve the pain as long as he has the drug in his system." Jane finished Patterson's thought in a quiet tone, helplessness evident in her voice.

She cast a pained look at her husband and caressed his hand, wishing she could somehow ease his suffering. " _Oh, Kurt."_

* * *

Kurt's entire existence was consumed by pain. He felt like his insides were a rope, violently tugged by a dog that wanted its toy when playing keep-away with its master. It seemed the sensations were only getting worse.

He was vaguely aware they loaded him into what must have been an ambulance, and another moan escaped him as the jolting aggravated his injury. Through the pain he felt a hand in his, a gentle touch tracing the back of his hand. A comforting touch. He wasn't sure if it was real, or a cruel hallucination created by his mind, trying to escape the agony. _"Jane"._

Kurt must have said her name aloud, since she leaned over him. "I'm here," she whispered, running her fingers through his hair. He wanted to ask her what had happened, how she was here and where they were, but the agony that was his world right now made it difficult to breathe, much less speak.

He tensed as he felt the medic touch his arm and tried to pull away, but stopped as Jane squeezed his hand softly.

"This is a pulse ox. It won't hurt," the medic said reassuringly as he attached it on Kurt's finger.

Kurt moaned quietly as the motion of the ambulance seemed to awaken every nerve ending in his body again. He was breathing shallowly, as even breathing hurt him deeply.

Suddenly, the vehicle drove over something, jerking it violently. Kurt let out an agonizing scream, as he felt someone was stabbing him with the red-hot pokers again. His scream quieted to a moan and he turned his head, trying to seek out Jane, who was sitting next to him. She leaned over him again, pressing her lips to his brow for a brief kiss and whispered to him, her breath warming his cheek. "I know it hurts...I know. Just hold on, Kurt. We're almost at the hospital."

He closed his eyes as the pain intensified again and hoped unconsciousness would claim him.

* * *

Jane was sitting in Kurt's hospital room again, maintaining her vigil by his side. He moved restlessly on the bed, a pained whimper escaping him as he called out to her.

She caressed his cheek tenderly and leaned in to whisper to him. "Shh. I'm here, my love. It's okay… It's okay."

Her touch calmed him and he gradually settled, his eyes closed, almost as if asleep. Jane only prayed the drug would be out of his system soon. To see her strong, steadfast husband, her anchor, in such agony was torment for Jane. She wanted to kill Saunders for what he had put Kurt through.

When they had gotten to the hospital, he had been terrified of the doctors and medical personnel surrounding them and it had taken all of Jane's willpower not to break down as she had desperately coaxed him to let them help. Still wary, but with Jane close to him, he had finally let them hook him up to the EKG and to attach another IV bag to the line still in his hand.

Over the next few hours, Kurt had drifted in and out of consciousness as the drug ravaged his body and made his life a living hell. There were times when he had been blissfully unconscious, the excruciating pain too much for his tortured body to handle. Jane cast another worried glance at his heart rate monitor, his heartbeat now only a little over a hundred. At times when the pain hit and all he could do was scream, it had been closer to two hundred. She had pulled him close then, hoping to soothe his agony, whispering sweet nothings to him as his screams quieted to whimpers and he had pleaded for her to make the pain to stop.

Soon, a nurse entered the room to check Kurt's vitals and his condition. Jane felt Kurt squeeze her hand and heard him groan because of the drug's effects. She could tell he was exhausted; he was sweating and his muscles were trembling with exertion, the drug not allowing his body to rest or recuperate. She saw his heart rate rising again as the nurse approached and ran the checks before leaving. When the nurse returned a moment later, Kurt froze and cast a terrified look at Jane when he saw a syringe in the nurse's hand.

Jane ran her thumb over his knuckles and reassured him softly. "Everything's okay."

The nurse looked at Kurt warmly, her tone sympathetic. "This won't hurt. The levels of the drug in your body are no longer dangerously high, so we can give you some opiates. It will ease the pain. I'm going to inject this into your arm, okay?"

Kurt nodded and closed his eyes when the nurse brought the needle close to his arm.

"There you go." The nurse smiled at them after injecting the painkiller. "You can have another dose in four hours if you need it."

"Thank you," Kurt replied sincerely, and the nurse left, leaving them alone in the room again.

Jane felt him relax and saw his eyes get hazy as the painkiller started to take effect. She leaned in and placed a loving kiss on his cheek. "Close your eyes," she cajoled gently." You need to rest."

Sitting back in the chair, she continued stroking his cheek, comforting him with her touch.

"Jane," he mumbled, on the verge of sleep.

"Shh," she shushed him softly. "I'll be right here. Just rest now."

A few minutes later, Kurt's breathing had evened. Her touch and the painkillers had lulled him to sleep, giving his body a chance to heal. Jane could tell from his deep breathing that he was finally sleeping peacefully and without pain. She wiped a rogue tear from her cheek before laying her head on the bed next to Kurt's arm and closing her eyes. Holding his hand, she soon fell asleep beside him.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So, this last chapter is a bit of happiness to balance out all the angst and pain I put Kurt & Jane through. Hope you like it.

Special thanks again to my wonderful beta, take2intotheshower, and to Indelible Evidence who have listened to be ramble and provided me with their insights. Thank you!

* * *

Kurt was lying in the large hotel bed, feeling more content than he had in weeks. He was well on the road to recovery again, his wounds almost completely healed. They were back in Venice. After he had been released for home recovery, they had decided to take the second honeymoon they had talked about but never found the time for.

The events of the past weeks, from Kurt getting shot to Jane's ZIP symptoms, had made them realize that time spent together was a precious commodity, especially when they had no way of knowing what the ZIP would bring or how much time they had. There might not be a _when._ So, leaving Patterson and Rich to work with the drive clues, they had set off to Venice for a long weekend.

Although Kurt had survived the torture inflicted by the men who had kidnapped him, the effects lingered for some days. The day they rescued him had felt like a week, as the drug had sensitized every pain receptor in his body and all he could do was scream as the agony continued. Finally, they had been able to administer painkillers, so that he had spent the next few days mostly sleeping as his body recovered.

The one constant that had remained through all the suffering, was Jane. She had held him, comforting him with gentle caresses and whispered assurances, when the excruciating pain had him begging for someone to make it stop or even kill him.

She was with him now, too: curled up to his side, her head resting on his shoulder as she traced patterns across his chest and abs with her fingers absentmindedly. Tracing her fingers around the new, recently healed scar in his side, she stilled.

Kurt leaned in and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Jane?" She seemed lost in her thoughts, so he spoke her name again.

Snapped out of her thoughts, she looked up at him. "Hmm?"

"You were miles away." Kurt murmured softly. He tilted his head, seeing the look on Jane's face. He knew that look. "What's wrong?"

Jane looked back down, her finger tracing his scar again. Her voice was husky with emotion as she spoke. "I almost lost you too."

Her sadness tore at Kurt's heart. He turned to his side and brought his hand up to caress her cheek tenderly. "Hey...none of that now," he admonished her gently before leaning in to kiss her again. He nuzzled her, his nose brushing against hers as he whispered. "I'm right here, Jane. And I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

She smiled at him lovingly, gazing into his eyes and brought her hand to his cheek. "Yes, you are."

Kurt closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying her touch. He pulled her flush against him, and threaded his fingers through her hair as he pulled her into another gentle kiss. "God, I love you."

"Love you, too."

Jane let out a surprised giggle as Kurt rolled onto his back again, pulling her on top of him.

He ran his hand through her hair, smiling at her like an idiot and drinking in the sight of her.

"So, now that we're in Venice again, what do you want to do?" he murmured.

Jane leaned her chin against his chest, contemplating the question for a moment.

"Well, there's a couple of the art galleries I'd really like to see. But beyond that, nothing comes to mind." She smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest. "What's important is that you're here with me."

He returned her smile "Yeah." After a moment, he grinned at her and asked "How about a boat ride around the lagoon?"

She laughed and smacked his chest playfully. "Kurt, no! I already fished you out of the water once."

"Ow," he gave her the wounded puppy- look, feigning hurt. "I didn't do it on purpose…"

"I know." She shimmied up and kissed him softly. "But the answer is still no. I am not letting you out of my sight if we go anywhere near the water."

Kurt chuckled as he pulled her into him, so that their noses were almost touching. "Is that so?"

Jane smiled at him, but managed to maintain a serious tone in her voice. "Yes, Agent Weller."

He hummed, appearing to weigh his options before he captured her lips lovingly, "Well, considering we're in Venice, surrounded by water, your only option may be to stay in this hotel room with me." He grinned at her mischievously before pulling her into a deep kiss, his hands caressing up and down her back and sides.

After a while, the need for air won out and Jane broke the kiss, leaning her forehead against his while she regained her breath. "Kurt, you're still healing…"

He could see the glint of worry mixed with the love in her eyes as he gazed up at her and wondered again, how he had been so lucky.

Kurt traced her cheek with his thumb as his fingertips glided over the bird tattoo on her neck. "Jane, it's fine." He couldn't resist smirking at her, as he continued in a low voice. "As long as it's not _too_ strenuous."

Jane raised an eyebrow at that comment.

"So please, be gentle," he whispered, before pulling her lips to his for another oxygen-depriving kiss.

"Always."


End file.
